In 2009, a Heuer Monaco worn by Steve McQueen during the filming of LeMans sold for over $80,000. We thought that was a lot for a watch that, well, is definitely not unique (there are four, maybe even six Monacos worn by McQueen during filming). Yesterday, that price was put to shame when yet another McQueen Monaco sold publicly...for almost $800,000.​

This isn't that big of news because, well, there are at least four McQueen Monacos known to exist, and potentially even six! You see, the prop-master on set was given a whole case of Monacos, so while each of these four (or six) Monacos could indeed have been worn by Mr. McQueen, it certainly diminishes the "wow" factor of owning his watch when your neighbor, his neighbor, and their neighbor could also make a very real claim to owning the same "unique" watch.

Still, what made this auction so interesting is that it wasn't held at Antiquorum (who previously sold a McQueen Monaco for over $80,000 in 2009), but at a Hollywood memorabilia house. And, the estimate seemed to be foolishly high, starting at $200,000. The justification was that McQueen's Rolex 5512 (which was his personal watch and indeed unique) sold for $234,000 - what they didn't mention was that his Monaco sold for just $80,000 in the very same sale.

We thought they were crazy to ask $200,000 as a reserve price. They weren't. It sold yesterday for a hammer of $650,000 - with the 23% buyer's premium, that's an incredible $799,500. Hard to believe, but true.